The ICC has ordered popular video hosting site YouTube to remove clips of World Cup highlights. While citing the need to protect commercial broadcast rights, the ICC has decided to put money over the enjoyment of fans. The game of love and unity is being sacrificed on the altars of money and television broadcast rights.
YouTube clips have been used to spread the gospel of cricket to areas of the globe where fans would otherwise be unable to watch cricket. Surely, people watching a grainy 4 minute clip is not denying the ICC or its partners of any revenue. With a game that is desperate for growth (or at least should be) given the declining interest in cricket in some parts of the world, the ICC has chosen to protect its broadcast rights rather than embrace the free publicity that YouTube is bringing to the game.
It is easy to bash the ICC over this obviously myopic decision, so let's offer some useful suggestions. The issue of broadcast rights being violated on YouTube is not unique to cricket. In North America, the National Hockey League (NHL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) have embraced YouTube. The NHL and NBA have signed deals with Google (YouTube's parent company), allowing users to upload video clips of games while revenue from advertisements are shared between the Google and the NBA/NHL. Surely the ICC could embrace a similar agreement, rather than denying fans the enjoyment of watching a 4 minute clip?
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